Thursday, April 10, 2008

Breast cancer inhibited by green tea

Not too long ago I blogged about a study suggesting one way green tea inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells — by disrupting the cancer cells' metabolism of fatty acids, which they need to survive.

Now a new study suggests yet another way that green tea fights breast cancer cells — by suppressing angiogenesis, or the growth of blood vessels in tumors.

The magical substance in green tea responsible for these cancer-fighting effects is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is found only in green tea.